Admittedly, movies involving romance are not at the top of my Netflix queue. As someone who stares at formulas all day, seeing another “brokenhearted woman + male doppelganger + disapproving friends + montage – regretful ex = happy ever after” romances actually encourages me to go back to Microsoft Excel. Thus, I begrudgingly accepted a friend’s request to watch “Before Sunrise” assuming to be beaten over the head with the formula. By the end, not only had this movie given me hope that movie romances could be fresh and new, but that anyone has a chance to find and experience true, pure, innocent love. It appeals to the romantic in us all.
Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is your typical young American. Celine (Julie Delpy) is his French counterpart. After witnessing an older couple argue on their train, they spark up a conversation. He convinces her to get off the train in Vienna with him until his flight leaves in the morning.
That’s it. No ex boyfriends (only alluded to), no unsupportive friends, and no montage. Without the formula, Director Richard Linklater puts a great burden on the chemistry between the two leads and the honest, down-to-earth dialogue they use to learn about each other. Fortunately, Hawke and Delpy are completely adorable and believable as a couple, and the script that almost every person can relate to in some way delivers to create a completely possible love story, and therein lies the charm of the movie.
Using camera angles that follow the couple as they walk about the streets, bars, and parks of Vienna, the movie boldly unfolds slowly, which gives the audience a “you are there” feel. Vienna as a locale provides a beautiful landscape and cornucopia of events for the two leads to react to and talk about. It has never looked prettier or more engaging.
Without Hawke and Delpy, this movie could not have succeeded. Physically, their attraction is evident. Mentally, they gradually connect with their interplay. And for the audience, this is all done in a completely with out artifice. The fact that these two are not as well known as say, DiCaprio or Winslet enhances the reality of the genuine relationship that they develop.
As someone who is a little frustrated with modern movie romances, I used words like “adorable” and “pretty” to describe “Before Sunrise.” It cracked my exterior and touched me in the most satisfying way possible. “Happily ever after” no longer belongs in a dream; it is a very attainable thing.